June 2015 Debut of the Month An enthralling and profoundly exciting dystopian novel; set aside plenty of reading time, as once you start you just won’t want to stop. It’s fascinating when an author explores a possible future, this particular future feels as though it could be just around the corner. The concerns of mental trauma, violence and social unrest exist today; ‘Mindwalker' is set after a war involving internal terrorism and the state has intimate and invasive access to peoples minds in order to stop violence from occurring. Lain is sensitive, strongly principled and becomes involved in a thrilling race for the truth, she has a captivating romantic interest, and rather than detracting from the storyline, it cleverly adds an intensity. The novel roars towards the ending, quietens then settles, as you turn the final page you can’t help but feel that a ferocious storm is gathering and waiting for release. This absorbing and thought provoking read is a gloriously impressive debut. ~ Liz Robinson
I've never killed anyone. I've never been attacked by a mob and beaten within an inch of my life. I've never watched a child die in front of me. But I've lived through the memory of all those things.
It is the future. There is no war, no social unrest, no painful memories...and no freedom. The government maintains peace and tranquility by brain-wiping all disturbing experiences. At just seventeen, Lain Fisher is the youngest therapist at the Institute to master the art of Mindwalking - using a direct neural link to erase her clients' traumatic memories. But when a troubled classmate asks for her help, Lain's superiors warn her that Steven's scars are too deep, the risk is too great.
Yet as she defies their warnings and explores Steven's memories, it becomes clear that something is very, very wrong. Is the Institute really an organisation of healing, or one of manipulation and state control? And is there more to Lain's father's suicide than meets the eye? Meet Lain, and follow her into a dystopian world of memory modification, and a society of surveillance, stigma and secrets.
A.J. Steiger majored in Fiction Writing at Columbia College, Chicago, and her lifelong interest in psychology and social justice issues led her to write Mindwalker. This is her debut novel and its sequel, Mindstormer, is to follow. She lives in Illinois, USA.
